Miami Art Week 2015: The Infinite or Uncountable

Paintings and sculptures that confound with their vastness

The notion of infinity or even that which is uncountable often perplexes the human brain. They've also been themes approached by artists for centuries. The following five pieces, seen across multiple fairs during Miami Art Week, either hint at one or the other, or tackle them head-on. From a line that seems to have no end and a mirrored infinity light-box to layers upon layers of beads or circles (that in theory could be counted if one sat for hours to track them precisely), these works inspire as much they confound and perplex. Rather than be plagued by something not comprehensible by the human mind, they contain a wonder-infused power.

Scooped out circles within circles within circles—all of vibrant, opposing colors—make up the latest work from CH favoriteMarkus Linnenbrink. "INSIDEYOURHEAD" (2015) cites epoxy resin on wood as source materials, but Linnenbrink's process lends it that touch of vastness. Shown in detail here, it's near impossible to capture the organized chaos of Linnenbrink's scooped out craters, and all that lies within. Presented by Berlin's Taubert Contemporary during the Pulse Art Fair, the sculptural painting's interior layers provide a sense of limitlessness—as if one could keep digging through every color in the spectrum and beyond.

If Yayoi Kusama has taught us anything, there's no experience quite like immersing oneself in an infinity room. On a smaller scale, artist Ivan Navarro's "No Se Puede Mirar" (2013) offers a small gas-lit window into the infinite. Looking directly head-on offers a vantage of shifting neon lights and text that extend into the unknown. Presented by Baró Galeria at the Untitled Art Fair, the work draws in one's gaze and pulls it far into a black and red illusionary distance.

At the Kang Collection of Korean Art within the Art Miami Fair, one work impressed with sheer uncountable attention to detail. "First Wind - CL" (2013), by artist Ran Hwang, claims meticulously placed buttons, pins and beads on wood as its source materials. The precise placement of each piece lends a sense of epic organization, that only a highly focused mind could undertake in creation. For viewers, the balance of sheer scope and minute, near-obsessive details overwhelms. One could most likely count all of the pieces with hours of uninterrupted time, but the illusion of being uncountable conveys far more, especially when portraying such a serene scene.

Artist Annie Morris' bleak "Faces Painting" (2015) delivers what feels like an endless scribble of oil on canvas. With no beginning or end, the line swirls and doubles back, maze-like and complex. Seen at the Winston Wachter Fine Art booth during NADA Art Fair, there's a sensation of the unlimited within the almost five-feet tall painting (shown in detail here).

At the beachside Untitled Art Fair, NYC's The Hole Gallery presented a mesmerizing painted work by artist Zane Lewis. The acrylic on canvas drip painting, "Untitled (RGBZ)" (2015), is a sensory wonder of innumerable dots in an array of colors that coalesce and contrast (also shown here in detail). It's a large-scale work of the tiniest components working together to draw contrast between details and the bigger picture.